the Okanagan Valley

BC Wine Country
Our departure happened to line up well with memorial day weekend and with a long weekend for some of our friends north of the border so we decide to meet in the Okanagan Valley for a bit of wine tasting and RnR. Back to back weekends in two different wine countries- hard to pass up! Jen and I were also thrilled to make it to the okanagan as we intended to visit the region when we lived in Vancouver, but each time we tried the bus broke down part way. Much like the rest of BC it's like a distant dream that never got realized while we were living in the province. Now we get to make up for lost time!

We drove north through central washington, also remembering how much we love this drive and how beautiful and dramatically different the landscape and features are than the rest of the lush, green pacific northwest we typically see. This part of the state has really only been something we see when driving to and from a backpacking destination or a concert in the gorge amphitheater. So much exploring we have to do and we're elated to be beginning to do so.

Crossed the border into BC uneventfully, grabbed a few groceries and headed to meet our friends. The beauty continued and/or increased as we drove and we knew it was going to be an amazing weekend. The house they found to rent on airbnb turned out to be a guest house for a local winery. A true log cabin overlooking the vines and the river below. Absolutely lovely!

We spent the next few days catching up with good friends, relaxing in the hottub surrounded by mountain and river views and venturing out each day to sample a few wines before returning to our little cabin oasis. The okanagan certainly didn't disappoint with its rolling hills, beautiful lakes and terrific wines. Somehow, based upon our experience with alcohol prices when we lived here we expected the wines to be twice as expensive as those back home in the willamette valley. Oddly most were half to a third the prices we're used to!

We experienced wines of all different varietals and qualities but there are some gems here to be certain, and sharing the find of the day back home on the screened-in porch or hot tub was a clear bonus for our willingness to leave the cabin each morning.

The weather wasn't exactly what we had hoped or expected and rather than sunshine and heat we got mostly rain and wind, but the hot tub made sure we still spent much time out doors and the clouds finally parted on our last night for one of the clearest star shows in recent memory.

Karma simply can't get enough of winston (her canadian love); and we feel the same way about chad and jess. All in, it was a perfect low-stress, no anxiety, high fun weekend in the okanagan and it was awesome to hug them goodbye knowing it would be only a few days rather than a few months before we see them again.